On Monday, October 13, 2014, the Kirkland City Council will hold a public hearing for the purposes of receiving public testimony regarding the proposed gun law Initiatives and to consider resolutions expressing support for the Initiatives. The Washington Gun Rights measure, Initiative 591 (I-591), generally proposes a prohibition on the confiscation of firearms by government without due process and proposes implementing background checks only if a federal standard is established. The Washington Universal Background Checks for Gun Purchases measure, Initiative 594 (I-594), generally proposes requiring a background check be conducted on every person purchasing a gun in the State of Washington, including those who purchase guns through private sales. Both Initiatives will appear on the November 4, 2014 General Election ballot for Washington State voters. The City Council will consider Resolution 5073 in support of I-591 and Resolution 5074 in support of I-594. The City Council’s Public Hearing will begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in the Council Chambers, Kirkland City Hall, 123 Fifth Avenue, Kirkland, WA 98033. The Public Hearing will be recorded and televised live on Comcast Channel 21 and Frontier Channel 31. It can also be streamed live and accessed as an archive at www.kirklandwa.gov.

The Mayor will preside over the Public Hearing. Following informational presentations from representatives of each measure, the Mayor will open the Public Hearing. It is at the Mayor’s discretion to limit the time of individual testimony for the purposes of carrying out the public’s business in the most effective, responsive and open manner possible. Persons interested in providing public comment will be asked to sign in prior to the start of the Public Hearing. Persons may sign up to testify once, but will be able to speak about both initiatives during their testimony. Persons requiring a disability accommodation are asked to contact the City Clerk’s Office at 425-587-3190 in advance.

Resolutions are adopted by the City Council to express policy or to direct certain types of administration action.